A wheel bearing arrangement of this type having spur toothing and a function of the spur toothing are described in detail in DE 31 16 720 C1. The spur toothing can be introduced into the wheel hub, for example, by manufacturing without the removal of material, as is known, furthermore, from DE 31 16 720 C1.
The connection between the wheel hub and the drive element by means of the spur toothing saves installation space and permits the transmission of relatively high moments which, however, are subject to limits on account of the dimensions of wheel bearing arrangements.
Moreover, the known wheel bearing arrangements or units have a relatively high weight and a relatively low bearing stiffness.
Here, the bearing stiffness is the resistance which the (wheel bearing) unit applies against elastic deflections which are caused by loadings. The bearing stiffness results in a tilting stiffness which results from the ratio of moments from loadings to the tilting angle in the wheel bearing, for example in Nm/°. This is smaller the more the wheel bearing tilts in the case of loadings, that is to say the greater the tilting angle is under the same loading.
The loadings are those loadings which substantially act on a vehicle wheel and the associated wheel suspension system in the operating state of the vehicle. The lower the bearing stiffness the more the loadings bring about tilting of the wheel system which has a disadvantageous effect on the driving behavior of the vehicle, in particular when driving around bends, and has a disadvantageous effect on the wear of the brake and the function of the brake.